What do I perceive to be some of the more lucrative jobs? Here are two:

Selling Into the Government - selling into the government is an entirely different beast and not many sales representatives can do so. Government sales representatives, regardless of what they are selling are put through very heavy scrutiny from their potential buyers.

This type of selling gets so mentally taxing that not many wish to or are able to stay at their respective sales jobs and venture into selling to corporate clients.

Though, the ones who do stay and persevere gain meaningful contacts within the bureaucracy that is the U.S. Government. Once they have these contacts, they can charge not only a hefty fee for their sales skills, but their employers also pay an added bonus for the book of government prospects (a.k.a. list of decision makers) that, unlike the corporate world may only change jobs once or twice in a career.

Hedge Fund Related Sales - if you want to make money as a sales representative, sell to those who still have money in this economy. As a sales professional in these economic conditions, it is easier to make money selling a product or service that is at a high price and low volume rather than relying on a multitude of sales of a product or service that is relatively cheap.

Many sales professionals who attempt to sit across the board room table from these savvy billionaire investors, get eaten alive, but those who succeed are probably not protesting on Wall St. right now.

What Skills to Sales Professionals Need to Make This Type of Money?

People Skills: many sales professionals are overly concerned with themselves and the quick sale, thus never taking the time to put themselves in the shoes of their prospective targets. Those who can empathize can sell. Those who cannot, cannot.

Ethical Conduct: though many would place ethical conduct in a behavioral category rather than an acquired skill, there is so much lack of integrity among the sales community that ethics seems to be more of a skill that sales professionals gain through discipline.

The most highly compensated sales professionals have a niche industry that they either work in or sell into and gaining a strong reputation within that circle is what I consider to be a very lucrative, necessary and rarely implemented skill.

Writing: if people don't want to talk on the phone anymore, how are sales professionals supposed to communicate their message in a welcoming, enticing manner? Unfortunately, most do not.

People misread emails very, very easily and if a sales professional is not a lucid, compelling writer, he or she is going to spend the rest of their career leaving fruitless voicemails.

Author's Bio: 

Ken runs KAS Placement:

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The professionals at KAS Placement specialize in sales, marketing and media recruitment.